Monday, October 20, 2008

A rather strange but visually-striking - sometimes beautiful - set of cards with its theme about bloodshed through the ages. Some of the images do not even fit the theme - e.g. Cards 9 and 10; others seem little more than propaganda - e.g. Cards 24 and 71. We find Bible stories and outer space plus a few cards not about violence at all. And where did Card 26 about an airliner come from? The subjects of some cards - e.g. Cards 70 and 71 - look like they came from Bush's America after 9/11. I guess some things just do not change. Bowman here displays, as in their Red Menace set, extremely right-wing attitudes, promotion of fear, fascination with violence and misery, embrace of Biblical myths - an odd mix for trading cards, but if you want to understand the official American mindset of the early 1950s, this set of cards brings it back vividly.

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When I was a young boy, I loved the images on these trading cards. In the 1950s, artwork was used instead of photographs, making trading cards stimulating to the imagination and, in some cases, simply beautiful.

I couldn't afford to buy the sets then, but I've worked long and hard to collect the images of my favorite complete sets. I hope you enjoy them.